Futures Unlocked | CFE Event Series

Dr Elissa Farrow- | -Tuesday 29 July

Note: The July session will be held from 1:15-2:15pm (not from 12:00-1:00pm)

Dr Elissa Farrow is a futurist, author, speaker, coach and strategist. As a highly skilled and experienced consultant, Elissa is dedicated to helping organisations navigate the complex landscape of strategy development, futures and foresight, and Artificial Intelligence. She has over 25 years experience in user centred research, organisational innovation, change design and facilitation. She is an experienced executive board director and an Adjunct Fellow at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She was a former Global Board member of the Change Management Institute and past Chair of DV Connect, an organisation committed to ending domestic and family violence. Her doctoral research explored organisations of the future and the implications of artificial intelligence for leaders, teams and the adaptation approach. For fun you will find Elissa on the beach at Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) as a voluntary patrolling surf life saver.

Prof Dirk Hovorka- | -Tuesday 26 August

Note: The August session will be held in the Owen J Wordsworth Room (not the Gibson Room)

Dirk S. Hovorka is a Professor in the Business Information Systems discipline at the University of Sydney, Australia. He received his PhD in Information Systems from the University of Colorado, and holds an MS in Interdisciplinary Telecommunications and an MS in Geology. His current research explores how scientific and societal practices bring forth possible worlds through theory, design, and imaginaries of futures. His research focuses on speculative approaches to ‘knowing’ regarding technology, society, and biophysical environments in recognition that the future is implacably resistant to empirical knowing, and that unprecedented sociotechnical change renders our knowledge about the past less indicative of future states. His work emphasises speculation and imagination in thinking with futures.

Nicoletta Boldrini- | -Tuesday 30 September

Nicoletta Boldrini specialises in Emerging Technologies Scanning and Technology Foresight. She is a Maieutic Facilitator, practitioner, and trainer who integrates Futures & Foresight with methodological frameworks such as Creative Problem Setting/Solving, Liberating Structures, Design Thinking, and LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® in workshops for both corporate and academic environments. A humanist with a passion for science, Nicoletta is a journalist and science/tech communicator, as well as a Futures Literacy Advocate with a focus on emerging technologies and future scenarios. She serves as Editor-in-Chief of Tech4Future, and is a frequent speaker and anchor at events. She is a Board Member of the Association of Italian Futurists and an active member of several international futures communities, including the Global Futures Society, Dubai, Association of Professional Futurists, World Futures Studies Federation, Foresight Europe Network, and the Italian Institute for the Future. Through these affiliations, she contributes to global communities of practice in Futures Studies and promotes Futures Literacy. Nicoletta is also the author of the book “FUTURES PRIMER: The ABCs of the Future | A Theoretical and Practical Guide to Futures Studies and Futures Thinking.”

Stefan Hajkowicz- | -Tues 21 October

Stefan is a chief research consultant in CSIRO working at the interface between science and technology and policy and strategy. His work helps decision makers in government, industry and community organisations explore plausible futures and make wise choices. Over the past 15 years he’s led a body of strategic foresight research at CSIRO involving scenario planning, megatrends analysis, risk analysis and decision support. Stefan is widely published in the peer-reviewed international research literature and his book “Global Megatrends” is a CSIRO Publishing best seller. His research expertise is in the fields of geography, economics, decision theory, management science and strategic foresight. He has a doctorate from the University of Queensland and post graduate diploma in economics from the University of New England. He has been a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Foresight Community and the OECD’s Government Foresight Community for over ten years. He is a fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr Peter Scoblic- | -Tues 25 November

Dr Peter Scoblic is the Sam Nunn Distinguished Fellow at the Nuclear Threat Initiative and a co-founder and principal of Event Horizon Strategies. He is also a senior fellow with the Future Security Program at New America; a senior associate at CSIS’s Hess Center for New Frontiers; and an adjunct professor at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, where he teaches foresight and forecasting. Peter has published widely on strategic foresight, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Science, Harvard Business Review, and Foreign Affairs. He is the author of the forthcoming American Psychohistory (Simon & Schuster), an intellectual history of the quest to quantify decision-making and the effort to preserve a role for human judgment, from early attempts to optimise strategy under uncertainty to recent advances in artificial intelligence.

Dr Colin Russo- | -Tues 24 February 2026

Dr Colin Russo is an Australian futurist, strategist, and CEO of Engaging Futures, based in Brisbane. He is the developer of the Inclusive Futures Method (IFM), a five-phase foresight framework for creating inclusive, intergenerational futures. Colin has held senior roles in the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Mines and Energy, and later served in the CEO’s Office at the City of Gold Coast. He led the community consultation for the award-winning Our Bold Future initiative, coordinating 20 public workshops to shape the city’s long-term vision. He has presented futures work for the Australian War College, Victoria Police Legacy, the AIS 2032 Futures Outlook, and major Queensland water strategy projects. His expertise spans the futures of cities, health, environment, and public policy.

Virginia Robin- | -Tues 24 March 2026

Virginia Robin is a Legal Futurist with 30 years in the legal field, including as a lawyer and law firm partner. Now focused on innovation, she integrates systems theory, quantum physics, and Indigenous wisdom to reshape legal practice and conflict resolution. She equips law firms with emotional intelligence tools and created the Robin Method, a three-step decision-making model developed over 13 years and taught to nearly 10,000 global students. A qualified mediator, she also developed Reflective Mediation, blending yoga and consciousness studies to support embodied decision-making. Her TEDx talk, Lawyers Are Trained to Break the Law, highlights the emotional disconnect in legal practice. Virginia has authored three books: Let’s Kiss All the Lawyers! …said no-one, ever, Not Guilty: Finding Peace in Three Simple Steps, and introduces emotional intelligence to children through The Many Meeeees of Miniki.

Shermon Cruz- | -Tues 28 April 2026

Shermon Cruz is the Founder and Chief Futurist of the Center for Engaged Foresight and holds the UNESCO Chair on Anticipatory Governance at Northwestern University, Philippines. He chairs The Millennium Project Philippines Node and formerly led the Association of Professional Futurists. Shermon co-founded the Asia Pacific Futures Network and the Global South Futures Community. He is a global thought leader in futures literacy and strategic foresight, contributing to global initiatives in governance, policy, and disaster risk reduction. He speaks internationally, facilitates futures workshops, and serves as editor and reviewer for leading foresight journals. His professional background includes roles at PwC, EY, and Accenture, and he teaches at leading institutions including the Asian Institute of Management and the Philippine Public Safety College. He is also the creator of the award-winning Dreams and Disruptions foresight game, used globally to explore alternative futures and transformative change.

Dr Joseph Voros- | -Tuesday 24 June

Dr Joseph Voros is a futurist and strategic foresight practitioner with over 25 years of experience helping organisations navigate long-term change. With a PhD in theoretical physics, his early career included time at Netscape in Silicon Valley before transitioning to futures work in academia and policy. At Swinburne University, he played a key role in developing foresight capabilities and taught in the Master of Strategic Foresight program. His award-winning work on foresight methodologies and futures intelligence continues to influence strategic thinking globally. Now working independently, Dr Voros advises institutions such as NATO and the Australian National University on futures strategy, scanning, and long-range thinking. His current focus is on applying deep-time perspectives - such as Big History and Cosmic Evolution - to inform future-oriented decision-making at planetary scale. He remains committed to advancing the discipline of Futures Studies through research, mentoring, and global collaboration.

Access the recording